Hotscopch

With sick kids (now plural, Bug is needing oxygen all day and Moo only needs it at night) I have been struggling with quiet, sit-still games. We have watched way too much tv, but I was inspired by an episode of Max and Ruby. Bug is absolutely fascinated with hopping on a 'hotscopch' so we set out to make one! Okay, so the actual playing hopscotch isn't a great sick kid activity, but the cutting and sewing kept Bug quiet and still and by my side. She loved the fabric paint! Maybe an art smock is next on my list of things to sew!
Tutorial on this to come sometime this week!
{tutorial here}

taggie love

For Moo's first Christmas, I made her a 'taggie' blanket. It has minkee on one side, cotton on the other and five tags on each side, ends up about 11" square finished. It was such a hit I had to make another one for Bug right after Christmas and two more for Valentines day. She carries one around with her all day. Well, the year-old taggies were looking old, so {inspired by this post} I made another today. A lot less ribbons, but a nice one we can take with us out of the house.

It's a hit! She crawled right up in bed and fell asleep. I used a little of the same fabric that's in her blanket my mom made.

Both kids have bad lungs, and every time they get sick it's lung-related. She just has a cold, but is hypoxic (low oxygen saturation) on room air. This is day two with oxygen, and she has more or less made peace with wearing it for the time being. The circle on her cheek? She is allergic to band-aid type things, and it's a rash from the sticky circles that help keep the oxygen in place. Between both kids, this is our fifth time with a kid on oxygen, and my kids call the Respiratory Therapist that brings the equipment out "grandpa." I think that's getting to know him a little too well.

I gave in

I am usually a big fabric snob. But when it comes to making my kids happy, I am willing to give a little. I don't really like a character theme room, but again... willing to comprimise some. Moo saw this Dora fabric and wasn't going to leave Wal Mart without it, so I gave in and bought a yard and made her a new pillowcase!

{with a little help of course}

Both of my kids still sleep in their Boppy pillows, even though they have a great big tag that says not for sleeping. We break the rules. The trouble is, they just get so dirty and are so expensive!I just took the old cover off and used it as a pattern, even making a hidden zipper for the first time!

Kid Crafts: Week four

These past two weeks I seemed to do more sewing than kid crafts, so not so many, but we still had fun!

As an on going family joke, my hubby got this paint set for his birthday and Bug was super excited to use it. She had more fun putting her paintbrush from one color to the other and instructed me to do most of the painting. She got a Martha Stewart pom pom animals set for Christmas and we put together the squirrel.

Inspired by this post, I numbered hearts and wanted her to line them up in numerical order. She thought eating white chocolate chips out of the cupboard was a much better option, so there the 'school work' lies at her feet.
My sister-in-law gave Bug this awesome sticker set and she plays with it while I work out. It's really cute!Another favorite in our house is playdough, usually up on the counter for Bug so Moo won't eat it. That kid loves to eat playdough.

quick update

My girls were invited to a birthday party and on the invitation... wear your princess dress. Hmmm. My girls have no princess dresses. We have ladybug tutus, Indian girl dresses, ballerina tutus, but no princess attire. With a budget of almost nothing, we headed to our thrift store. I found two dresses that would do, but wanted to fix them up a little.
For Bug's, I took the entire top apart and added a white sparkly star fabric on top to cover the stains on the front and back. After a little melt down from Bug, her final decision was approval. {sign of relief}

For Moo's I added a solid layer under the skirt for a little modesty and crossed the straps in the back so it would stay up better. I also took a couple silk flowers and stitched them onto the front where there were funny glue marks. Perfect for a little princess tea party for a total of $6!

serger love

I begged my mom to dig out her old serger she has not used in ten years and lend it to me. She bought it when my 24 year old sister was one. It's a Bernette 335 (for Bernina) and was a really nice one 24 years ago. This model was discontinued because it is nearly impossible to thread. Nice for a learning machine, huh? I have used it to make the chick tank tops,

two more "Sienna dresses" and two dresses for my niece that just turned two. I am so addicted!

snowy day

It was another snowy day all day. Don't get me wrong, I love the snow. I just tend to get a little cabin fever this deep into winter with no hope of a getaway for months. So, I did what any sensible mom would do... I made tank tops! I found the pattern at fiddlehead and made some last year we called our 'zoo shirts'.

{july 2009}

I made two in one Moo naptime! I made Bug the 4T and Moo the 3T, and I think they turned out well! They'll wear them to church Sunday with a shirt underneath and matching denim skirts. I am such a sucker for matching my girls. Moo slept through the photo shoot, but Bug was more than happy to get her 'lady shoes' and a hat my mom knit when she was an infant that no longer fits. But no pants. At least the girl can accessorize!

one down...

...only fourteen more current projects to finish!This one I started last summer for my brother and sister-in-law, and it sat needing to be bound for months and months. Glad I have another one done and ready to go to its new home!

Kid Crafts: Week three

Between illness and travel, I didn't manage to get pictures together for the last two weeks, but we're back! A few of my favorites from the week...

a lemonade stand- Bug came up with this one on her own and insisted on giving out grape juice at her "lemonade stand" (there are pom poms in the ice cream container, and no cups in sight. I love the idea though!)

inspired by a post from Chasing Cheerios months and months ago, we finally found some bubble wrap to paint.

we did bead lacing with Moo and she really enjoyed it bug begged to make a banana craft, and this is all I could come up with, but it made her happy!

today...

I

-unpacked from four days in Ogden
-made a glitter craft with Bug

-ran three loads of laundry

-folded two loads...

-made a quilt top start to finish to hang in my mom's quilt shop

-built a bookshelf we got at ikea
-got all the toys out of my front room. hooray!

-made homemade rolls

-played bubbles with my girls (Gymboree bubbles are totally worth the money in my book!)

-dreamed about buying baskets for the bookshelf